-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Many wept . Some prayed . But after their smoke-filled plane rattled to an emergency landing , passengers had a new lease on life , as they exited a JetBlue flight Thursday via inflatable chutes .

`` I 'm just happy to be alive , '' said passenger Jarrod West , who slid down holding his black Chihuahua . `` I do n't think I 'll be mean to anybody ever again . ''

Four people were injured in the incident ; one was taken to hospital , CNN affiliate KCAL reported .

A loud pop initiated the brush with disaster , said West and other passengers who spoke with KCAL from the airport in Long Beach , California .

Flight 1416 had left Long Beach Airport about 15 minutes before and was over the ocean , carrying 147 passengers and crew headed for Austin , Texas .

Then the right engine `` blew , '' JetBlue told KCAL .

A signal alerted pilots that an engine was overheating , fire department spokesman Jake Heflin told KCAL . The pilots deployed extinguishers .

Thick smoke filled cabin

Actor Jackson Rathbone was on the flight with his wife and child . `` Our right engine exploded and our cabin filled with smoke , '' he posted to Twitter .

It grew so thick that passengers could no longer see the people seated next to them , said passenger Jonathon Hubbard .

West realized he would have a hard time breathing soon , but oxygen masks did not drop down , he said .

So , flight attendants went around deploying them by hand .

Fortunately , not far from its departure airport , the plane made a sharp turn back toward it , Rathbone said . The actor is known for his role as Jasper Hale in the `` Twilight '' movie series and stars in the TV series `` Aim High . ''

Tears as plane rattles

As it cruised back over land , the plane began to quake , and passengers broke into tears , afraid for their lives .

`` Everyone was crying , '' passenger Dean Delbaugh said . `` I thought this was it . '' His wife , seated next to him , clung to him .

Rathbone was also flying with his family .

`` I recited the Lord 's Prayer as I held my son and my wife in my arms , '' he posted to social media site whosay .

Then flight attendants prepared the passengers in the event of a hard landing .

`` The flight attendants were yelling ` brace , brace ' and they kept repeating it and repeating it on the top of their lungs , '' West said .

Happy to be alive

But the pilot brought the scare to an end by setting the plane , which FlightAware.com identified as an Airbus A320 , gently onto the runway .

`` He put it on the numbers . He did good , '' West said . `` He came by afterwards and said ` hello ' to everybody . All of us were hugging him and saying ` thank you . ' ''

Passenger Jonathan Hubbard was sitting in the exit row and wasted no time .

`` I took the exit door and just threw it out the plane and just jumped out , '' he told KCAL . An inflatable chute was waiting to catch him .

JetBlue spokeswoman Jessica Felipe said everyone evacuated the plane by using emergency slides .

`` I grabbed my son and jumped down the inflated ramp , my wife following , '' Rathbone tweeted . `` We left all our personal effects onboard . Who cares . We were alive . ''

Passengers were led to a room , where they were debriefed , Rathbone said . KCAL reported that those wishing to continue to Austin were put onto a later flight .

There was no statement on the Flight 1416 incident on JetBlue 's website . But on the day of the incident , the airline announced CEO Dave Barger would step down , effective in February . The statement did not connect the decision with the mishap .

In August , a JetBlue engine caught fire in San Juan , Puerto Rico , sending passengers and crew down the emergency slides .

Rathbone and his family went home to celebrate their living through Thursday 's scare with a wine and champagne tasting , he said on whosay -- they opened a half-dozen bottles .

CNN 's Steve Almasy contributed to this report .

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Plane engine `` blew '' airline says ; actor tweets engine `` exploded ''

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Cabin filled with heavy smoke , passengers tell CNN affiliate

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Pilot made spot-on landing , according to man on plane

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All passengers slid down emergency chutes to safety